The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-01-05
Said to Have Been CoHmitied by the nlinci;
State Live Stock Commission.
Vigorous Protest Of Commissioner Colman t.
the Governor Of Illinois.
incubation, He Declares, II Practiced, VIII
Lead to Results Disastrous to the
whole Country.


Illinois State Live Steck Commission Of the
rules prepared by the Commissioner OF
Agriculture to regulate the cooperation be-
tween the General Government and the
States for the suppression Of pleuro-pneu-
monia, and accepted by Governor Oglesby
on behalf of Illinois. He cites rule 10, pro-
vidipg that 'all animals affected with con-
tseious pleuro pneumonia are TO be slaugh-
tered as soon after their discovery the
necessary arrangements can be made" and
saws: at is notorious that such affected
animals were not promptly slaughtered,
either in the distillery sheds, upon the
Harvey farm or in other infected herds"
He declares that, despite the express stipu-
lation that incubation shall not be practiced
in Illinois, incubation has been permitted.
He calls attention to the provisions that
quarantine shall not be removed without due
notice to the Department of Agriculture,
and that all necessary disinfectiOn shall be
conducted by the department, and declares
that there have been violations of these
rules of so important character that they
threaten to impair il not destroy the value of
all that has been done in Chicago, and may
lead to results so far-reaching andIdisastrous
to the whole country that he can not allow
them to pass without entering most en-
phatic protest.
He continues: at requires no great
amount of search to discover the reason and
necessity for these rules. In cooperating
expended large sums OF money, aud 1t would
be- ridiculous to do this without some means
OF assuring itself that such intelligent and
thorough measures would be adopted and
enforced as would secure with reasonable
certainty the OBJ sct for which the apprOpria-
ton wss made. The Shufeldt distillery
stables were without doubt as badly infected
as any stables which have been discovered
in Cook County, with the pOssible exception
of the Phoenix stables. Learning that the
Commissioners contemplated withdrawing
the quarantine restrictions so far as to allow
the Henry II. Shufeldt Company to refill
these stables at once with healthy cattle, the
Chief Inspector of the Bureau of
Animal Industry at Chicago entered
mis- protest and notified this department of
the intended action. December 10 the chief
of the Bureau of Animal Industry sent a
written protest to the Commissioners and re-
quested the privilege Of further consultation
with them before such important actions
were definitely decided upon. Hearing
nothing from the Commissioners, and learn
ing from our Inspector that animals were to
be placed in the ShufelGv Shede, L wrote them
on December II, calling Ihe!r attention to
rule l., and expressing my readiness TO
disinfect these stables as sooH % nouhed
that they were emptied, and that TINS N9fN
could be commenced. To this communica-
ton have received no answer. Under
cate Of December Is, the Commissioners
wrote to the Chief of the Bureau Of Animal
Industry, informing him that en- December
IL they had issued an order allowing
ShUfeldt & Co. to refill the southern division
of their sheds with healthy cattle.
Since that date the sheds mentioned have
been reflled, and now contain large num-
er of cattle that had not previously been
exposed to the disease. In allowing this the
Commissioners removed that part of the
quarantine restrictions which prohibited the
entrance of healthy cattle into those infected
premises without the consent of this de-
partment, and without that due notice to
which they were bound by the rules and
regulations; they also allowed this pest-hole
to be reflled with susceptible animals with
out giving this department any opportunity
to disinfect il, as is also provided for in the
rules and regulations This is not co-opera-
ton. 1t is the arrogation by the State Com
mission of the right to decide and act upon
questions of the utmost importance to the
whole country without consultation with
this department, and regardless alike Of
our protests or of the rules and
regulations which your action as Governor
q course makes our effort to cooperate with
! your State farce. Worse, even, than that,
| IL removes the only guarantee that there
could be some substantial result for the thou
sands of dollars expended in Cook County
| out of the national appropriation for the
1
"And row, after three months Of anxious
waiting for the tidings that the contSgion
had been thoroughly eradiead from at least
\ few of the infected places in Chicago, the
country is amazed to learn that the Com
| missloners have decided not to avail them
selves of the most ordinary precautions to
/ prevent the temperance OF the disease.
| They have allowed the owners of the worst
| infected place DOW remaining in the city to
| disinfect their own premises without salts
factory or competent supervision, and prac-
/ tically with no supervision at all and, not
| satisfied with this, they have shown the
| most extraordinary haste and the most
obstinate determination to have this place
| refilled Immediately with fresh cattle. They
allowed but single day to elapse between
| the Slaughter of the last affected animals
| and the issuance of an order to refill the
4 stables. It is a remarkable fact that every
movement OF the Commissioners for the
OF the people at large was attended with
the utmost conservatism aud deliberatiOn.
There was no undue haste to slaughter the
diseased or exposed animals IN these same
sheds. Ten long weeks. every day of which
cost the citizens Of this country thousands
of dolisrs were allowed to drag along before
the courage OF these gentlemen could be
brought TO the point of carrying out this
provision Of the law. They do not seem 10
have made any hurried attempt to safely
dispose OF the plague-spreadiDg cattle
which we're roaming over the commons
of the city and the neighboring towns
But how different when the interests of 4
wealthy distilling company were to be pro
tected-a company which bad harbored this
plague and allowed il to multiply upon theil
premises, and which had violated the law by
failing to report it, To save this firm from
loss permit was granted. with the most ex
traordinary precipitation, for retilling TIT
sheds as soon as the last hoof OF the plague
stricken cattle had been slaughtered. IL i
mex plicable that a commission appointed Il
serve the people Of your State should adop
such an cratic and dangerous policy"
The Commissioner refers at considerably
length to q communication from the Illinoi
Commissioners OF December 1S in which tn
Commissioners endeavor to excuse this re
markable action by citing certain means b.
which their decision was based. He take
up their reasons one by one and comment
on them. He declares that some of tn
statements in Shufeldt's petition are mis-
leading and incorrect, and that the stipu
lations made by that firm as a condition o
the removal of quarantine have not beel
carried out. and he argues that the alleges
disinfection was futile.
The remaining paragraphs Of his remark